Original subtitles

NARRATOR: "Gunsmoke."

With Milburn Stone as Doc, Amanda Blake as Kitty,

Ken Curtis as Festus, Buck Taylor as Newly, and starring

James Arness as Matt Dillon.

Ladies.

Just enough to see me through the crop time, Mr. Dofeny.

When would that be, Mr. Milligan.

Oh, no time at all.

First rain.

I can smell rain.

I can always smell rain.

Mr. Bodkin, he always saw me through.

Mr. Bodkin is on business in Hays, Mr. Milligan.

I'm here.

I'm not doubting your nose, and I

know what they say about a banker's hear,

but the facts, Mr. Milligan, are that it hasn't

rained here in seven months.

And even if your nose is right, this late,

your harvest will be so small it wouldn't fatten a range rabbit.

You're saying no?

No, I'm saying that this time, I

simply cannot loan the bank's money on such a risk.

Perhaps later when things are better.

I mean it when I say I'm sorry.

Oh, Banker man?

I'd like to do business.

Uh, a few thousand, I'd say.

Did you say a few thousand?

Well, I don't know what it'll be exactly until we count it.

Well, First Merchants would love to serve you.

Good. Good.

I do appreciate that.

Oh.

Well, where's the money?

Why it's you oughta know.

Now fill 'em up.

Keep quiet and nobody gets hurt.

BANK ROBBER: Up against the wall.

You heard 'em. Move.

BANK ROBBER: Keep your hands up and your mouth shut.

Ferguson.

Fill the bags.

Fill the bags, man!

Thanks.

John, it's not like the earth opened up.

We'll get by.

We always have.

Norcross, let's get out of here!

Keep your chin up, ya big plow boy, and pray for rain.

Robbers!

Robbers!

[gunshots]

Have a pleasurable day, ladies!

[gunshots]

No, I gotta get going.

The posse's forming up in 10 minutes at Jason's Crossing.

I understand.

You've never ridden with a posse.

You can hardly climb on a horse.

Marshall Dillon's gone.

They need every man they can get.

You're a farmer.

They can't expect you to go out and hunt outlaws.

Well, it's the law, Janet.

Every able-bodied man rides, whether he can or not.

Give me them gloves, Wendy.

Might have to climb a tree to hide.

[laughs] And get me that tobacco plug.

Sure, Daddy.

If horses chew, I can make a friend.

Do you have to go?

Yes.

But the talk is that Mr. Norcross does good things too.

What the talk is.

And didn't he try to give us money?

Honey, he robbed the bank and a lot of banks before that,

and he's killed men too.

Don't worry about your old daddy.

There'll be plenty of men to protect him.

Now fetch me some coffee, will you?

Sure, Daddy.

You could be killed, couldn't you?

You could be killed, and for what?

A man could walk into a wagon not seeing,

or touch the Saturday night bullet meant for the moon,

and for what, Jan?

Don't worry on this hide.

When I'm outside of the home fence,

I just naturally take more caution than a woods

rat with the owl out.

And it puts the anchor on the whole of it.

'Course, I don't know if it shoots or not,

but it's got notice to it.

Well, I'll be back shortly.

Gonna teach you how to make coffee one of these days.

It's got to be so strong a horseshoe won't sink.

Yes sir.

Bye Daddy.

I wonder why he had to take that gun.

Well, Ma, he'd have looked funny without one

in front of all them others.

Those others, Darling.

Slow down!

Whoa, whoa.

Whoa.

Well, men, I best take old pal here up to that old lyin'

shack at the Forks of the Wolf.

You take Nichols and [inaudible] straight

for the territory line.

That'll get us to the free end of the rope.

This ain't right, Jack.

We ain't never split up before.

We ain't never been shot up before.

This old pal here took to wearing

three left feet for luck.

Get to riding now.

Come on, Bob. Come on, Bob.

Let's go.

Nah, listen.

You ain't never going to shake that there

posse with me tagging along.

Let me just climb up a creek bank here parts

and let 'em fetch me.

Now come on.

Come on.

Looks like the tracks disappear here, Festus.

Well, I guess our chores are done

and we can get back to town, huh?

Y-- You can just stay put's what you can do.

Now, there ain't none of us going back yet.

You know, Festus, it ain't like Norcross

was some barnyard bobcat.

He's got a thought for others.

Everybody here knows he ain't all bad.

[murmurs]

Yeah.

And all them same everybody's ought to know

that a crime's a crime, Potter.

Well, I ain't all that fired up to catch him,

I'll tell you that.

I hear tell of a widow woman he helped over Cimarron way.

That's right.

He was helping that widow woman with stolen money, Reeves.

Oh, come on.

He only steals from rich banks and insurance companies.

And a lot of that he gives to people that ain't got

it so good.

Well there's a lot of poor people

got their money in the banks too, Mattis.

You betcha they have.

Now lookie here.

Like it or not, you all been deputized proper.

And ain't nobody a-going back. -Hey look!

Here comes Milligan!

[laughter]

Milligan, you better get yourself a cactus switch.

[laughter]

What this old horse needs is a plow behind him.

Now, Milligan, don't you fret none about your old horse

a-lagging behind, because if they is to double back on us,

you'd spot 'em, don't you see?

And if you do, just squeeze off a couple of shots

and we'll come a-running.

Now, Looter, you take your men and head on upstream there

and give us a squall if you cut a sign.

Right.

But Fowl, you do the same downstream.

And the rest of us is going to go ahead straight on.

All right, lead off, Quantrill.

What?

Festus, why don't you quick ragging me?

We gets us a mess of jugs and one of them

bridal suites with enough room to run Texas steers to butter.

Second floor.

You remember Henshaw, don't you?

Heads you could hide in a shutter glass.

The same.

Well--

Lost, horse.

We're lost.

By the Lord's sight, we are lost.

[horse neighs]

Them coming back.

Get moving, you tormenting-- all horses should

have been left on the ark.

We took them jugs done just quicker than first love.

And old Henshaw, he hears him some celebrating

onto other side of the wall.

He guesses as to how he'll just-- just fly over,

see how the wagon points.

Ah.

He starts to flapping his arms like a fledgling

about to quit the nest.

And he says, lookie here, boys.

I can fly.

I'm going to fly clean around this building

and back in again.

[laughs]

Well, he takes him a run.

And out the second story window, he sails, flapping

away like a ruptured eagle.

And Candy Griffith, he says, I look out the window

and I see ole Henshaw all hung up

on a prickle bush down below.

So he turns to Jip Nichols and says,

Jip, you was closest to the window,

you know'd he couldn't fly around no building.

Why didn't you stop him?

And ole Jip says, why, Candy, I'm so drunk,

I bet $5 he could do it.

[laughs]

[horse whinnies]

[jack talking indistinctly]

Well, I just [inaudible] off. [inaudible] a sign no place,

fellers.

Now either they went off up that creek back

yonder for them forks or they doubled

back over that hard pan by them buttes

is the way I got it figured.

Ho, ho, ho, ho!

Wait a minute, Quantrill.

Don't get off.

We can't get you heisted back on.

[laughter]

No joke, Festus.

It's Looter.

Looks like they've glommed on to some of 'em.

Looter, where'd you catch 'em?

Caught all three of 'em in a draw.

Plum easy.

We got the money, Festus.

All of it.

Where's Norcross at?

BANK ROBBER: That's for you to find out.

[jack talking indistinctly]

JACK NORCROSS: Come on, Bob.

Here. Here.

Come on.

This'll do you good, Bob.

Take a little bite of that.

Here you go.

Nice and smooth here, Bob boy.

Well.

Maybe you'll feel like eating a little more later, huh?

What is it, Bob?

[gunshots]

Looks like somebody's found something.

Get 'em on in to town, Looter.

Come on, fellers, let's ride.

Come on, boys.

That there's Milligan's old horse, ain't it?

Look here Festus.

Some more over here.

All right, you fellers.

Split up.

Try to get around the back.

Milligan, did you shoot 'em both, did you?

I ain't sure.

I-- I guess so.

That's Norcross.

I seen just about every poster of him.

[retches]

Well, he's been-- he's been shot in the back, Festus.

They've both been shot in the back.

BAR PATRON: That's a thing you just don't do.

So what does that mean?

It means, Miss Kitty, they were back-shot.

Well, your intention was to get them dead or alive, wasn't it?

Well, get 'em, yes, but not that way.

What way, then?

Look, the point is, Miss Kitty, you

don't shoot a man in the back.

Why?

BURKE: Why?

Yeah, why?

Well, you just don't do it.

That's all.

It's a coward's way.

Look, Burke.

You put yourself in Milligan's place.

What would you have done?

Waited for him to turn around and shoot you?

Look, I-- I don't expect you to understand, Miss Kitty.

You're-- well, you're a woman.

Oh, indeed.

So Norcross gives to his favorite charity,

so he didn't deserve to get shot, is that it?

Look, I'm not saying that at all.

All I'm saying is, you don't shoot a man in the back,

outlaw or not.

That's stupid, Burke.

Back shoot, Robin Hood, Jesse James.

That's all a lot of nonsense.

Look, I didn't mean to make you mad, Doc.

Oh, I don't mean you, Burke.

I don't-- yes I do too mean you.

Let me tell you something.

Whenever a man violates a basic law, whether that law is

legal or medical, especially when the basic of that law

is the intrusion upon somebody else's private property,

then that man is an outlaw.

And I don't care how you try to dramatize him.

He's still an outlaw.

Well, it seems to me that he-- look, my business is waiting.

Doc, I just don't think--

I know you don't think, Burke!

That's your big trouble.

[crowd murmurs]

Must've snuck the point blank, I'd have to guess.

That's a fact.

I didn't look, but ole Norcross probably took powder guns.

It was a cowardly thing to do.

It makes us all in Dodge look bad to have

a backshooter around.

[interposing voices]

JANET: I understand John.

Do you, Jan?

I understand that you shot a man.

I closed my eyes, pulled the trigger.

It sure wasn't no Wyatt Earp affair.

I got him in the back, Janet, and folks

are saying that ain't right.

Well, I'm saying that you didn't do anything wrong,

and that you got nothing to be ashamed of.

And I'm saying that you're my husband, and that I love you,

and that we're going to make it no matter what.

How?

We got nothing but a bad name now.

Without that loan, we're winter leaves here.

Just winter leaves.

Why don't you go talk to Mr. Dofeny again?

I mean, you rode in the posse.

They got all that money back.

It was you that got Norcross.

Maybe he'd take some notice of that.

Won't do no good, Janet.

Well, it won't if you don't try.

Anyway, I got this feeling, and it's a good one.

Janet Milligan, I'll be sacked and sold if you

ain't both ends of the rainbow.

[knock on door]

Who is it?

JOHN: John Milligan, sir.

I stopped by your house and your wife said you'd be here.

Who did you say it was?

JOHN: John Milligan, sir.

I know it's late, Mr. Dofeny.

Yes.

It is late.

Can I talk to you, sir?

-Come in. -Thank you, sir.

Brandy?

No, no.

Thank you, sir.

Ordinarily I am home at this hour.

Had a run of extraordinarily poor luck on loans.

Hm.

In the East, a banker loans on the background of a man.

His collateral is his social posture.

Mr. Dofeny--

I hear it was you that got Jack Norcross today.

Well, as it happens, sir.

MR. DOFENY: You shot him, and his partner of course.

I shot a man, sir.

Talk of the town.

Seems so, and I be lightly confused about it.

Well, there's no confusion about it.

You shot the criminal that robbed

this bank and a lot of others.

You sure you won't have any? -No.

Thank you, sir.

The loan.

Yes, sir.

I'm sorry to be a forward man, but I--

The loan.

I believe you, Milligan.

I believe you could make those crops dance to your tune,

but I can't give you the loan.

I turned you down this morning.

If I give it to you now, people will

think that I'm rewarding a man who shot someone in the back.

Jack Norcross is a hero to some folks.

Of course, to some folks, a fire-snorting devil

riding a dragon down their chimneys would be a hero.

Personally, I don't care if you'd shot him in quicksand.

The point is, you shot him.

But the double point is, you shot him in the back.

And for some silly reason, people

think that makes a difference.

I'm sorry, Milligan.

If I do business with you, I go under.

That happens to be the way of it.

I'm sorry.

I am!

Milligan.

Come and see me again in a few months.

People around here will forget.

They always do.

Get up on your feet, coward!

Who are you? What do you want from me?

We're going to show you what we think of back-shooting--

Those ribs are going to be kind of sore.

I think that's it.

You didn't recognize a thing about 'em, huh?

Like I said, they all had hoods over their faces.

I don't know who they were for certain, Doc.

Not even a voice?

JOHN: Doc, even if I knew, I ain't

a man to be accusing folks.

Me and my family got to live in this town.

Well, you let them get away with it,

and next time, it'll be a lot worse.

Now, if Matt were here, he'd--

I've got nothing to tell him.

Thanks, Doc.

What do I owe you, anyway?

May, you don't owe anything.

But I'll tell you what you owe yourself.

You ought to make a full report to Matt when he gets back.

And something else.

I want you to know that those men

don't represent the feelings of the rest of us

here in Dodge at all. -I thank you, Doc.

WENDY: Hello Daddy.

Wendy!

What are you doing out here?

Oh, Jim Grim and me were just looking, and thinking

while we were looking.

Thinking about what?

The stars.

I thought they never quit blinking.

They never quit being there.

But I just saw one fall.

Jim Grim, you tell Wendy them stars, they fall all the time.

Might be though, they're just taking it to mind to move on,

start shining brighter than ever somewheres else.

What happened to your face?

Were you in a fight?

Not much of one.

Your mother inside?

Yes, but--

I'm all right, girl.

What did Mr. Dofeny say?

Oh, John.

Could use some coffee.

Who did you fight with?

He said no.

Not his fault, I reckon.

Norcross being a hero to some in town,

he figured giving me a loan would be bad for business.

I've been thinking coming back, we ain't beaten Janet.

Even suppose the fall crop's ruined.

We got us the land.

The land's good.

I'm a strong-bodied man.

I can hire out.

Maybe work for somebody way out of town.

I save my money.

Winter get through.

We plant us a good crop again.

John.

John, don't you talk.

Whatever you decide's all right with Wendy and me,

you know that.

It's you that I'm worried for.

Ah, this ain't nothing.

Just some farmers taking hard to what I done.

There's not an honest man among them that would have done

it any different in your place.

And you see they hate you for it.

There are times, John, when things

are so hard that it's not wrong to-- to turn your back

and walk away.

Wendy and me, we're with you always and anywhere.

Much obliged, Sam.

Howdy, Doc.

Howdy.

Can I have one more, Sam?

Sure, Doc.

Thank you.

Where were you last night?

Why, was you looking for me?

John Milligan came to see you?

No.

Why?

Well, he got beat up on his way home.

Beat up?

Who did it?

Oh, some very heroic, stout-hearted fellows

that had sacks over their heads so they couldn't be recognized.

Was he all right?

Yep.

He's all right, but only because he's

got the stamina of a Percheron, and

more real down home guts than a lot of people

give him credit for. Where's Matt?

Is he going to be back soon?

Well, he ought to be getting back tonight.

Newly, he got a telegraph from him saying

the trial was over yesterday.

Where are you going?

I better get out yonder, Miss Kitty, and see how Milligan is.

I'll see y'all later.

You know, Kitty, there's something going

on in Dodge that better be straightened

out before it's too late.

CHILDREN: [CHANTING] Jack, Jack, never come back.

Milligan Killigan, shot him in the back.

Jack, Jack, never come back.

Milligan Killigan shot him in the back.

Jack, Jack, never come back.

Milligan Killigan shot him in the back.

Janet, you all right?

Janet, what is it?

Why are you crying?

It's Wendy.

They started in on Wendy.

What?

She came home today.

Oh, I'm glad you weren't here to see it.

Did they hurt her?

Did anybody touch her?

No.

But not like that.

It's worse than that.

They're punishing her, John.

What do you mean?

They taunted and teased her, and they

made her ashamed of being herself and of us.

For what I'd done.

For that.

Where is she?

She's asleep.

She cried herself to sleep.

We'll take her out of the school.

What for?

Make her a freak?

Make her a stranger among the other children?

We can't do that.

And even if you could, it wouldn't do any good.

It's not the children's fault, really.

It's the whole town.

Well then, what?

Leave her there so they can pick at her like a flock

of chickens on a sick biddy?

I'll go there, Jan.

I'll talk to the teacher.

I'll make it stop.

I will.

[children laughing]

CHILDREN: [CHANTING] Jack, Jack, never--

[clears throat]

Yes?

Name's John Milligan, sir.

Milligan?

You'd be--

Wendy's father.

She's my girl.

Oh, yes, yes.

Well, is there something I can do for you?

I ain't never been in one of these, Mr. uh--

Pandy.

Gerald Pandy is my name.

Mr. Pandy, never had a good chance to get me any schooling.

Of course, I never took to her, see,

or I guess I'd have done her some way.

My wife now, she went to school.

Well, that's good.

Eh, now, uh, was there anything I could help you with?

Because if not, it's about time for class to begin.

Well, me not having the learning,

I've been one to look up to it, Mr. Pandy.

Hoping my little girl could touch to finer things.

You know my Wendy.

She always done good in her studies.

Had her good reports since she started in.

You ever have cause to be troubled over Wendy?

Oh, no.

No, nothing at all I can think of.

Reckoned not.

Meaning she done her part here, sir.

Now, my girl come home last night too sick to eat

and full of shame for a thing she ain't to blame for.

Mr. Pandy, I killed a man, and I done it in what some folks seem

to think is a shameful way. I know that.

Mr. Milligan, do we really have to go into all this?

Yes, we do because it's all part

and piece to Wendy's trouble.

Right's right, Mr. Pandy.

And when a man's done wrong, it's fair to punish him.

The law does it when what he's done against the law.

Folks can do it theirselves if it ain't, and I

can testify to that.

Excuse me, Mr. Milligan, but what

is the point you're getting to?

The point is, it ain't fair to punish them that's innocent,

or to see them punished neither, much

less a little girl child without one ounce of sin

in her own soul and body.

I beg your pardon, sir.

If you're accusing me, let me tell you.

I never raised a hand.

No, it ain't that.

I know you never hurt her, but she's being hurt.

And you're the man here.

You're the one that's set over all the youngins

to see their learning's right and proper.

Well, you think I set them on to pester Wendy, is that it?

You let them, sir.

And she ain't pestered, Mr. Pandy.

My little girl is dying inside.

Now I can bear whatever I got to bear for what I done,

but I'm just an ordinary man with ordinary feelings.

I can't stand my baby suffering for me.

Mr. Pandy, you gotta tell me if I can keep her here

or if we gotta go.

Now, Mr. Milligan, I run a school here,

and I try to keep a decent degree of discipline

over the children.

But I am not and I cannot be a tyrant.

I try to maintain a modicum of order in the classroom,

and I do.

But these children have parents, and the parents

are the ultimate authority.

Now, the town knows of your, well, recent unhappiness.

I don't have to tell you that there are many here

who condemn you for that.

But not I, sir, no.

I judge not, lest I may be judged, as my rule.

But those who do influence the thinking of their children.

Oh, my, yes.

And Mr. Milligan, I ask you, who am I to take the formation

of these children's values out of the hands

of their true and rightful parents?

Mr. Milligan, I'm doing my best.

Surely, you understand my position.

I understand it, Mr. Pandy.

Do you?

Aw, it ain't no use, Wendy.

Jim Grim, you got you any ideas?

Nope?

Don't blame you, Jim Grim.

You can't make something out of nothing,

or we'd all be princes and princesses of thereabouts.

Oh.

We can get it, Daddy, somehow. -Somehow.

The most left-handed word in the world.

[chickens clucking]

Oh. Mrs. Milligan.

Marshall.

Is your husband home?

I'd like to talk to him.

Why?

He has some money coming, Ms. Milligan.

Money?

Yes, the reward money for Jack Norcross.

Is it respectful, Marshall?

As far as I'm concerned, it is ma'am.

He's the guy that killed him.

I don't want to seem like a, like a grasping wife,

but oh, it's going to make such a difference.

My-- my manners.

Won't you please come in?

I'll uh-- I'll got get John right away.

Johnny.

Johnny, it's important.

It's very important.

Your Ma don't say it is if it ain't.

Mr. Milligan.

Marshall, what was it you wanted?

It's about that, uh, reward money on Jack Norcross.

Comes to $500 and it's yours.

Johnny, I say everything's going to be all right.

Don't deserve nothing, Marshall.

Mr. Milligan, the man was a killer.

The law says that whoever brings him in dead or alive's

entitled to the reward.

I reckon it so if you say so, Marshall,

but the money don't matter if the town won't have us no more.

That's another thing.

Now, I heard about that bunch of masked men beating up on you.

I want you to help me find out who they were.

I don't 'spect I could know 'em for certain, Marshall.

Well, if we worked together maybe we could find out.

I-- I can't do much by myself, you know.

I reckon it's late for that now.

See, folks been flaming my family,

making it hard for Wendy.

We was fixing to head on.

MATT: Now look, there's something

I want you to understand.

I may not be able to change the minds of the people of Dodge

about you, but I can sure see to it

that they leave you and your family

alone to live in peace here.

Johnny.

We can try, can't we?

Please.

Well, we can think on it some, anyhow.

MATT: Good.

I'll, uh, I'll be back in town this afternoon.

You, uh, you can stop by and sign the papers

and get that reward money.

Anything I can do, I, uh, let me know.

BAR PATRON: --thing you just don't do.

And here's another thing.

A boy was telling my old woman how

ole Milligan come riding out to the schoolhouse on the squawk.

Heard him giving the teacher all kinds of froth

because the kids was riding his girl.

Well, you reckon that ain't brass?

Old Backshoot giving trouble to anybody about anything.

On top of that, he comes riding into town

bold as brass to collect reward money for what he's done.

Seem like he ain't got the idea yet.

Yeah, it seems like.

He ain't got any sand but what's in his head.

[laughter]

Say, what do you fellas thinking we

oughta do, rough him up again worse?

Well, I, uh, guess we just got to get

his attention a little bit better than we did last time,

huh?

BAR PATRON: Yeah. [laughter]

JANET: [laughter] Only it's better than a loan

because there's nobody to pay back.

You mean it's like a real present?

And we'll get through this dry spell and it'll rain,

and the crops will be fine, I bet.

And the way you're telling it, missy, when it does rain,

it'll be nothing but solid kernel ears of corn

and 60 bushel to the acre.

[laughter]

It ain't going to be easy if we stay,

you know that, both of you?

Money to get us through, we needed that, all right.

But like the marshall says, there's no turning the town

around, not right away.

And there's your schooling, Wendy.

It'll be all right, Daddy.

I believe it will, little lady.

You can stand it til then.

Now, don't you think it's close to your bedtime

so you can get up bright and early for school?

I'll go get Jim Grim.

She'll be all right, John.

She's going to be a hard girl to beat.

Got a lot of her mama in her.

More than half her daddy, as I see it.

[wendy screams]

[wendy sobbing]

He's dead.

Jim Grim's dead.

Somebody hanged 'em!

JANET: Oh my God.

Oh.

How could they?

Why?

Where are you going?

I'm going to get 'em, Janet.

I ain't gonna lie down no more.

Johnny, don't go!

Johnny, they'll kill you!

Don't go!

[sobbing]

Mr. Milligan.

Mr. Milligan.

I been thinking over what we talked about.

I'm looking for Ben Mattis. You seen him?

Uh. Oh, yeah.

Yes, about an hour ago.

He went into the Bull's Head with some friends of his.

Uh, Mr. Milligan, I'd like to talk to you.

Talking's over.

Well if ain't ole backshooter.

[glass breaking]

[shouting]

Stop that!

[shouting]

Well, I don't think you'll have anymore trouble from them.

Has anything changed, Marshall, really?

Shouldn't be moaning around here, us folks.

Your mama needs help, honey girl.

Mama doesn't really want to go, does she, Daddy?

Well, I guess we're none of us too happy about it.

But you wouldn't really want to stay here now, would you?

Go back to school?

I guess not.

Not anymore.

We'll find a new place somewhere.

You'll make new friends.

I know it doesn't seem like it now, but you will.

Sure, Daddy.

Daddy?

Daddy?

Daddy, look.

What do you suppose they want?

We'll see, hun.

We'll see.

Hello Wendy.

Hello Mr. and Mrs. Milligan.

We, uh, all come to see you because we heard what happened

and-- and that you were all leaving.

Mr. Pandy told us that.

He said that it was our fault that you were a-leaving.

And we all reckon that's so.

We're awful sorry.

And that's why we came, to ask you to stay.

It's for you.

Open it, Wendy.

It's for you.

[kitten mews]

Will you stay, Wendy?

Will you please?

Daddy?

Well, Wendy, I guess it wouldn't be

right to take that kitty travelling,

not when she just got here.

Run along, darling.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: Stay tuned for exciting scenes

from our next "Gunsmoke."